Alert Ready System to Be Tested Across the Country

A text message from Telus is seen on a smart phone in Toronto on Friday, May 4, 2018. Mobile devices across Canada will be buzzing a little more than usual today as emergency management officials test the new nationwide public alerting system. (THE CANADIAN PRESS/Graeme Roy)

WINNIPEG — Most Canadians will receive an alert message today in some form or another during a test of the Alert Ready system at 1:55 p.m. CT.

The last nationwide test took place in May, sending mixed signals and only reaching a fraction of the population.

The emergency alert test message is distributed through cell phones connected to an LTE network, radio, and TV/satellite providers.

“It is important to note that not all Manitobans will receive the test alert on their wireless devices,” said Infrastructure Minister Ron Schuler, minister responsible for emergency measures.

“This may occur for a variety of reasons, including device compatibility, connection to a long-term evolution (LTE) network, cell tower coverage, and individual device software and settings.”

The Alert Ready system is managed through Pelmorex, the parent company of The Weather Network, which operates the National Alert Aggregation and Dissemination system.

“We have a long history of keeping people aware of critical and potentially life-threatening situations. Testing all components across the country is an important and necessary part of any public alerting system,” said Martin Bélanger, director of public alerting at Pelmorex.